8 Most Memorable Kobe Bryant Games
5. 2005: Drops 62 On The Dallas Mavericks
By 2005, the Lakers were undisputedly Kobe's team. Shaq had been traded, Derek Fisher was a Warrior, and Rick Fox was retired. Now Bryant was the veteran leading a squad that consisted of youngsters such as Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, and Luke Walton. Needless to say, outside of Lamar Odom, Kobe didn't have much help.
The Lakers had missed the playoffs the year before, but Coach Phil Jackson had returned after a season off, so the fans had some hope. Bryant would shoulder the load and carry the team back to the playoffs. To do so he went on a scoring tear, leading the league with 35.4 points per game. The Dallas Mavericks were one of his victims.
On 20 December, Kobe would go for 62 points. In an impressively efficient performance, he only needed 3 quarters and 31 shots. When Kobe went to the bench at the end of the third, Dirk Nowitzki's Mavericks had only scored 61 points. The Black Mamba had outscored the entire team himself.
"There's been a lot of talk of me being a one-man show but that's simply not the case. We win games when I score 40 points and we've won when I score 10." ~Kobe